The 4th of July get-together is going on seven decades and has stretched on for five generations. Joleen (Macho) Schugel is the only member of either family to attend all 70 reunions.

At the time of the 1953 celebration, Joleen was dating Stanley Schugel. Stanley had recently entered military service and would ship off for Korea later in the month.

Florence Macho–Joleen’s mother–wanted the two families to gather for a 4th of July party before Stanley departed. They chose German Park because the Macho family lived nearby. Stanley Schugel also played in the Municipal Band, which frequently performed in German Park. It seemed like a perfect fit.

Another family gathering was held in 1954, while Stanley was still away, but he would return in time for the third reunion in 1955. By then, he and Joleen were married. As time went on the family continued to come together around Independence Day and the family expanded.

Joleen Schugel holds her newest great-grand child Noah Neidecker during the Schugel family reunion. The Schugel family has gathered for the 4th of July every year since 1953.

Joleen and Stanley had eight children together: Ron Schugel, Stan R. Schugel, Chris Schugel, Terese Gruber, Dan Schugel, Beth Filzen, Allen Schugel and Jodi Runck. All eight continue to attend the family reunion each year with their own kids. The event has become a big undertaking with each generation inheriting the planning.

Terese Guber said around the early 1970s, the family began to document the reunions. A scrapbook was kept indicating where the gather was held and what the family did. The scrapbook even includes when new members of the family joined.

Joleen and her daughter Chris Schugel poured over the scrapbook at the start of this year’s reunion to see all that has changed in the last several decades.

Chris said the family had tightly documented what happened at each reunion, including the food they ate. During the early reunions they grilled chicken, but at some point, they switched to hot dogs. For the 70th reunion, they decided to bring back the chicken.

Recent entries include a list of games the family played and who won each year. The family typically plays a round of golf the day before the reunion. The family already has photos of the 2023 golf outing in the scrapbook.

Joleen Schugel was joined by her eight children for the Schugel Family’s 70th annual 4th of July reunion. The first family get-together was held July 4, 1953 with only 10 family members, but has grown to include over forty family members. Top L to R: Allen Schugel, Dan Schugel, Stan Schugel and Ron Schugel. Bottom L to R: Jodi Runck, Beth Filzen, Joleen Schugel, Terese Gruber and Chris Schugel.

In 2019, the family got into a new yard game called Kubb. They hold a tournament each year to see who can be the Kubb champion.

It takes dedication for a reunion to survive 70 years. New family members need to take over the planning and organizing to keep it going.

Joleen’s granddaughter Patty Guber has taken charge of organizing the events and keeping an up-to-date record. This makes her the fourth generation of the family to organize the reunion after her great-grandmother Florence planned the first celebration.

Patty said it was not a hard event to organize. There is a lot of coordination needed among the family, but she said it is fun to do.

This year’s greatest challenge was ordering matching shirts for the entire family. The family had the idea to create matching shirts for the 70th reunion. Since this was a milestone reunion, they also needed to make sure they could rent the German Park pavilion. The family reserved the pavilion on July 5 of last year to ensure they had it for this year.

Patty said all the work to set up the reunion was worth it to see the growth in the family and “to see grandma smile.”

Joleen Schugel was all smiles during the reunion. Though the family matriarch did not typically participate in the golfing or the lawn games, she enjoyed having her family together in one place.

Most of her children remained local to the New Ulm area, but some of the grandchildren have moved further away. The 4th of July party is a chance to see them all during a fun occasion.

One of the highlights for Joleen was a chance to hold her newest great-grandchild, Noah Neidecker who was only three months old. It was Noah’s first 4th of July and his first Schugel reunion, but it certainly will not be his last.